There are around 30,000 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year in the UK. 72% of those occur at home with the majority of these witnessed by friends or family. Already clinically dead, an electric shock to the heart is the only way to revive the arresting patient. Time is critical. Every minute that goes by post-arrest, the sufferer’s chance of survival decreases by 10%. In London, the average time it takes the emergency services to get to a patient is about 11 minutes; this is not fast enough. Often there is simply not enough time to find a public access defibrillator as they are poorly signposted, not mandated by law to be there, and are often not registered to the NHS database. The problem is clear: we need the fastest response possible to give at-risk patients the best chance of surviving a cardiac arrest.

We want to give at-risk patients a miniaturised AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) so that they can be administered a lifesaving shock as quickly as possible. By offering high-risk individuals the option to carry an AED at all times, we are improving their survival outcomes drastically. Defibrillation within 3 minutes is the gold standard and can ensure minimal damage to the brain and a 74% chance of survival with good neurological function.

Using Heart Restart is as easy as 1, 2, 3. It is opened, patches separated, and the two halves stuck on the patient. All the instructional steps for utilisation and performing CPR are explained through the audio instructions and visual guidance on the screen, and the two shockable rhythms ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation are automatically diagnosed to prevent misfires.

To summarise: Heart Restart is a unique and innovative defibrillator because of its small size, the fact that it is owned and carried by an at-risk patient and that it empowers their friends and family to save their life in case of an emergency. Heart Restart gives a second chance at life from a pocket.

This project was conducted as a group effort between Melinda Kuei, Daan Leenarts, Claudia Maw and Aimee-Elisabeth Kyffin.